4.2 magnitude earthquake Gölbaşı, Adıyaman

[Anthea]

For many years the Turkish government and the US have been asset stripping Kurdish areas

Turkey has been investing their ill gotten gains in already affluent Turkish areas NOT the Kurdish areas from which the mineral wealth is being stolen

In recent years the US has been stealing the mineral wealth of Western Kurdistan, originally the US went into Syria under the guise of helping to rid Syria of ISIS, but it has remained to help itself to oil and other minerals and set up several ILLEGAL basses

It is due to the internal conflict within Syria and sanctions imposed on Syria, that the AID agencies are having difficulties reaching and proving support for many of the earthquake victims

KURDS ARE DYING

Has any of the media outlets mentioned this fact !?!

[Anthea]

8.10pm GMT
4.5 magnitude, 10 km depth

Strong enough to bring down buildings already weakened by the more than 200 previous earthquakes / aftershocks

[Anthea]

Click Photo to Enlarge:

Trapped brother and sister

A trapped Syrian child along with her brother who were wedged between concrete in the ruins of their home were rescued on Wednesday more than 36 hours after a devastating earthquake shocked the country and neighboring Turkey.

“Get me out of here,” Alaa, the sister, told a rescuer. “If you get me out, I will do anything for you, I will be your servant,” she pleads as the rescuer replies “No, no.”

Young Alaa and her brother lost both parents when the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked large swathes of southern Turkey and northern Syria. In the video, she can be seen stroking her brother’s hair and covering his face, attempting to provide protection from debris and dust.

The children are from the central Syrian city of Hama, but their family in recent years relocated to Jindires district in Afrin, a region in northwest Syria formerly under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) but now controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.

As time continues to pass, hopes of finding earthquake victims alive under the rubble of countless buildings continues to fade, with more bodies being pulled out than surviving people

Many of the injured may not survive due to shock, the cold, lack of shelter, lack of fresh water and hot food

Those who survive are going to need humanitarian support for many months

[Anthea]

Repeated Warning:

BEWARE

Many so-called charities and organizations will be asking for donations to help the earthquake victims

MOST of them are FAKE

I recommend:

Médecins Sans Frontières

Syria-Turkey earthquake: What is MSF doing?

On Monday 6 February, two major earthquakes hit northwest Syria and southeast Turkey.

Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams have been responding in northern Syria since the first hours of the disaster.

In Idlib, in northern Syria, we are treating injured patients in MSF-supported hospitals

Our teams have also donated emergency medical kits to other healthcare facilities in the region

We remain in close contact with authorities in northwest Syria and in southern Turkey in order to provide support based on the emerging needs of people affected by the earthquake

MSF teams and their families are reported to be OK and we are in constant contact

The situation is extremely fast-moving. More information on MSF's response to the earthquake will be shared as it becomes available.

How can we help MSF in Syria and Turkey?

Due to the unique way that MSF is funded, most of our donations are "unrestricted" and can be used wherever the need is greatest. The actions our teams are taking in Syria and Turkey are funded by donations just like these.

Please consider giving an unrestricted donation, which will give our medical teams across the world the valuable flexibility to respond as needs arise.

Click here to learn more about making donations
https://msf.org.uk/

20 minutes ago

12.30am GMT 4.2 magnitude, 16 km depth

[Anthea]

Click Image to Enlarge:


The fact that the area receiving aftershocks / mini quakes is expanding is extremely worrying

[Anthea]

US sanctions on Syria hinder aid supply

Syria bears the scars of 12 years of brutal war, in addition to US draconian sanctions -- the effects of which are likely to nullify aid efforts most notably in the areas worst struck by the quake

As heartbreaking images continue to emerge from Syria, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said US draconian sanctions against the war-torn country, which is suffering from the aftermath of devastating earthquakes, raise prices and hamper humanitarian operations.

During an interview for Sptunik, IFRC Under-Secretary-General for Operations Coordination Xavier Castellanos said, "Sanctions do have these unintended consequences. And if I summarize, [it] increases the prices on everything that we do, takes more time to deliver the humanitarian services, it sometimes requires private supplies that could again increase the cost and there is this level of fear sometimes to facilitate the existing procedures [with regard to] sanctions."

Dropping a heart-wrenching warning, Castellanos warns that Syria may have more people under rubble than Turkey as a result of the severe earthquakes and that a large number of those are still missing.

"In Syria, my view is that probably we will end up having significantly more people under rubble than in Turkey, but numbers will tell us, there will be a moment in time when we will talk about missing people because there will not be a guarantee what happened with them," Castellanos said.

"We see a major challenge in those areas where you don't have rescue search and rescue teams with equipment that is needed and with necessary machinery that is required," he said.

IFRC Under-Secretary-General for Operations Coordination believed that Turkey and its neighboring Syria will require a long time to recover from the tremendous wreckage inflicted by the catastrophic earthquakes, and the struggle will be even higher for Syria given the country's already dismal situation.

It is worth noting that Syria bears the scars of 12 years of brutal war in addition to US draconian sanctions-- the effects of which are likely to nullify aid efforts most notably in the areas worst struck by the quake

It will be "even more complicated" for Syria, while Turkey is likely to tackle the crisis "a little bit faster," he stressed.

He further estimated that IFRC's total initial response to the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria is at 200 million Swiss francs ($217 million), adding that the organization will need several months to calculate the final amount of relief aid necessary to respond to the Turkey-Syria earthquake.

West provides earthquake relief only to militant-held areas

Western countries are not providing necessary aid to the Syrian government, which is dealing with the fallout of the devastating earthquake, and only send them to areas in Syria that are controlled by militant terrorist groups, the Syrian Presidency’s Special Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban said.

"Unfortunately, the West only cares about areas where the terrorists are - where the White Helmets are - but they do not care about the areas in which most Syrian people live... Most of the money, all of the equipment has been dispatched to Turkey from Europe and from the US. Nothing to Syria from Europe, at all," Shaaban told Sky News.

This is happening as thousands, including little children, are still calling for help from under the rubble in Syria. However, the rolling crises through which most Syrians are living didn't gain international support mainly due to the US draconian sanctions.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... sands-unde

[Anthea]

UN Aid to Quake-Hit Syria

The United Nations' first convoy of aid crossed from Türkiye to Syria's northwestern Idlib province on Thursday, three days after the devastating earthquake

Six truckloads of aid entered the Bab al-Hawa border crossing through the Cilvegozu border gate in Türkiye's southern Hatay province. Bab al-Hawa is currently the only crossing through which the UN aid is allowed to go into the area.

Ankara is working to open two more border gates with Syria to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid to its neighbor which also suffers from massive earthquakes.

"Cilvegozu border gate is open. We are working to open two more gates... We also provide the necessary support for the aid to reach Syria," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Iran's fifth batch of humanitarian aid also arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus. The delivered batch includes 45 tons of blankets, carpets, tents, and foodstuff

Iran has also sent rescue teams to the two countries. On Wednesday, Esmaeil Qa'ani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, visited the quake-hit Syrian city of Aleppo and expressed support for its people.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday called on other countries to pressure the United States into lifting the sanctions on Syria and the siege of the country to enable the delivery of international aid to the quake-hit Syrian regions.

The massive earthquakes on Monday and their aftershocks have so far killed over 17,000 people in Türkiye and Syria, injuring tens of thousands.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/UN- ... -0007.html

[Anthea]

Aftershocks have slowed down

5 hours ago 4.3 magnitude, 15 km depth
Sincik, Adıyaman, Turkey

7 hours ago 4.3 magnitude, 10 km depth
Göksun, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

7 hours ago 4.8 magnitude, 5 km depth
Aşağı Karafakılı, Hatay, Turkey

9 hours ago 4.1 magnitude, 17 km depth
Yeşilyurt, Malatya, Turkey

10 hours ago 4.3 magnitude, 15 km depth
Sincik, Adıyaman, Turkey

13 hours ago 4.4 magnitude, 11 km depth
Gölbaşı, Adıyaman, Turkey

13 hours ago 4.4 magnitude, 6 km depth
Hani, Diyarbakır, Turkey

14 hours ago 4.2 magnitude, 16 km depth
Sivrice, Elazığ, Turkey

16 hours ago 4.0 magnitude, 16 km depth
Yeşilyurt, Malatya, Turkey

18 hours ago 4.5 magnitude, 10 km depth
Yeşilyurt, Malatya, Turkey

Hopefully, buildings will stop collapsing but a great many buildings remain unsafe

Thousands still trapped, 20,000 dead but total figure could double, most people still without basic sanitation, water, food, heat, bedding, mattresses or blankets, warm clothing, shelter from the freezing temperature, everyone has lost families and friends, now they are losing hope

it may take a YEAR to get the survivors into any form of permanent housing

These people have lost everything

[Anthea]

Death toll passes 20,000

Hope fades for survivors

reuters.com

Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 20,000 on Thursday.

The rescue of a 2-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, and several other people raised spirits among weary search crews. But hopes were fading that many more would be found alive in the ruins of towns and cities.

The death toll across both countries has now surpassed the more than 17,000 killed in 1999 when a similarly powerful earthquake hit northwest Turkey.

A Turkish official said the disaster posed "very serious difficulties" for the holding of an election scheduled for May 14 in which President Tayyip Erdogan has been expected to face his toughest challenge in two decades in power.

With anger simmering over delays in the delivery of aid and getting the rescue effort underway, the disaster is likely to play into the vote if it goes ahead.

The first U.N. convoy carrying aid to stricken Syrians crossed over the border from Turkey.

In Syria's Idlib province, Munira Mohammad, a mother of four who fled Aleppo after the quake, said: "It is all children here, and we need heating and supplies. Last night we couldn't sleep because it was so cold. It is very bad."

Hundreds of thousands of people in both countries have been left homeless in the middle of winter. Many have camped out in makeshift shelters in supermarket car parks, mosques, roadsides or amid the ruins, often desperate for food, water and heat.

Some 40% of buildings in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, epicentre of the tremor, are damaged, according to a preliminary report by Turkey's Bogazici University.

ROADSIDE CAMPFIRES

At a gas station near the Turkish town of Kemalpasa, people picked through cardboard boxes of donated clothes. In the port city of Iskenderun, Reuters journalists saw people huddled round campfires on roadsides and in wrecked garages and warehouses.

Authorities say some 6,500 buildings in Turkey collapsed and countless more were damaged.

The death toll in Turkey rose to 17,406, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said. In Syria, already devastated by nearly 12 years of civil war, more than 3,300 people have died, according to the government and a rescue service in the rebel-held northwest.

In the devastated Syrian town of Jandaris, Ibrahim Khalil Menkaween walked in the rubble-strewn streets clutching a white body bag. He said he had lost seven members of his family, including his wife and two of his brothers.

"I'm holding this bag for when they bring out my brother, and my brother's young son, and both of their wives, so we can pack them in bags," he said. "The situation is very bad. And there is no aid."

Turkish officials say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450 km (280 miles) from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east. In Syria, people were killed as far south as Hama, 250 km from the epicentre.

Rescue crews looked for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in the dark in the city of Adiyaman with temperatures below freezing, Turkish broadcasters showed.

An aerial view shows collapsed buildings, in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras

[1/41] An aerial view shows collapsed buildings, in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Teams frequently called for silence, asking all vehicles and generators to be turned off and reporters to keep quiet as they listened for sounds of anyone alive under the concrete blocks.

There were still some signs of hope.

A 2-year-old boy was picked out of the rubble by a Romanian and Polish rescue team in Hatay 79 hours after the earthquake, video released by Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) on Thursday showed.

The boy, wearing a blue, white and black striped sweater, cried as he was gently lifted from the hole where he had been trapped. He was carried away on a blanket. No other details were immediately available.

Another video from IHH showed a helmeted and dust-streaked rescuer weeping with emotion after successfully freeing a little girl from the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras.

Many in Turkey have complained of a lack of equipment, expertise and support to rescue those trapped - sometimes even as they could hear cries for help.

After facing criticism over the initial response, Erdogan said on a visit to the area on Wednesday that operations were now working normally and promised no one would be left homeless.

Nevertheless, the disaster will pose an additional challenge to the long-ruling president in the election.

Greece sent thousands of tents, beds and blankets on Thursday to help those left homeless by the quake, in an act of solidarity with a neighbour that is a NATO ally but also a historic foe.

Israeli satellite intelligence was helping map the disaster zones in Turkey with mapping capabilities predominantly used for special operations, the Israeli military said.

SYRIA OVERWHELMED

In Syria, relief efforts are complicated by a conflict that has partitioned the country and wrecked its infrastructure.

The U.N. aid convoy entered Syria at the Bab Al Hawa crossing - a lifeline for accessing opposition-controlled areas where some 4 million people, many displaced by the war, were already relying on humanitarian aid.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pushed for more humanitarian access to northwestern Syria, saying he would be "very happy" if the United Nations could use more than one border crossing to deliver help.

The Syrian government views the delivery of aid to the rebel-held northwest from Turkey as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Syrian civil defence said at least 2,030 people were killed in opposition-held northwest Syria, and the government has reported 1,347 deaths.

Syria's ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday admitted the government lacked capability and equipment but blamed the war and Western sanctions.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has chaired emergency meetings on the earthquake but has not addressed the nation in a speech or news conference.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-ea ... 023-02-08/

[Anthea]

After 12 hours without aftershocks:

Around 10pm GMT

1 hour ago 4.2 magnitude, 10 km depth
Hasanbeyli, Osmaniye, Turkey

1 hour ago 4.1 magnitude, 10 km depth
Nurdağı, Gaziantep, Turkey

Not very powerful but still strong enough to bring down severely damaged buildings

Many people are sheltering in damaged buildings, they need to be moved away from the danger zones and provided with tents and emergency supplies

[Anthea]

People cannot survive much longer that 3 days without water

People can survive 3 weeks without food

There is a danger of people drinking contaminated water

People can die from hypothermia due to the cold

Untreated wounds could become infected

Lack of sanitation could cause a spread of diseases

EVERYONE CAN DO SOMETHING

Call off sanctions to Syria

Send donations to WELL ESTABLISHED organizations such as:

Médecins Sans Frontières https://msf.org.uk/
(more than 50 years experience)

or

Disasters Emergency Committee https://www.dec.org.uk/

The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently at times of crisis overseas

or

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

They launch Emergency Appeals for big and complex disasters affecting lots of people who will need long-term support to recover.

They also support Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to respond to lots of small and medium-sized disasters worldwide—through our Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) and in other ways.

Do NOT send money to all the online organizations telling you how good they are and asking you to send money to their bank account

[Anthea]

Over 21,000 dead from quake

More than 21,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, officials said.

Rescue workers are racing against time to pull survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings. Some heart-warming successes were seen in Turkey, but an aid group said hope is fading in northwest Syria.

Survivors, many of whom are homeless, could face “a secondary disaster” as cold and snow lead to “worsening and horrific conditions,” the World Health Organization said Thursday.

US Eases Sanctions on Syria To Allow Earthquake Aid

How many people died due to US sanctions

"Today, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Syria General License (GL) 23, which authorizes for 180 days all transactions related to earthquake relief that would be otherwise prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations (SySR)," Treasury said in a release on Thursday.

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo was quoted in the release stressing that US sanctions in Syria "will not stand in the way of life-saving efforts for the Syrian people."

Earlier this week, southeastern Turkey was hit by strong earthquakes that killed some 20,000 people and injured tens of thousands more.

The latest development comes after the US was widely criticized for not earlier lifting sanctions in the immediate wake of the devastating earthquakes that killed thousands across Syria and nearby Turkiye.

Earlier on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said no sanctions should interfere with relief efforts in Syria as the country is dealing with the fallout of the devastating earthquake.

2 hours ago 4.4 magnitude, 10 km depth
Çelikhan, Adıyaman, Turkey

2 hours ago 4.9 magnitude, 10 km depth
Göksun, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

[Anthea]

With the frequency of aftershocks diminishing, people are hoping that some of the building will remain stable and be able to provide much needed shelter

However, some seismologist predict another sizable quake is yet to come

I remain unconvinced as I am unaware any seismologist predicted Monday's quakes

It would be wise to err on the side of caution and prevent people from taking shelter in buildings

Many structures that appear stable may have sustained damage and developed weaknesses due to the 250 quakes and aftershocks

[Anthea]

Click Photo to Enlarge:

Baby Aya's heartbreaking story

Painful footage shows the dust-covered newborn being rescued with her umbilical cord still attached to her dead mother

Meet baby girl Aya who was born under the rubble of the Turkey-Syria earthquake and was rescued with her umbilical cord still attached to her dead mother in the Syrian town of Jenderis.

Aya's story

In Jenderes, in the countryside of Afrin, northeast Syria, a baby girl took her first breath surrounded by the destruction after her mother went into labor during the earthquake, gave birth to her, and bid her farewell.

The girl was named Aya, meaning "a sign from God" in Arabic. Her father and brothers were also killed in the earthquake.

Thousands of people have offered to adopt the baby girl who was born under the rubble of a collapsed building in north-west Syria, following Monday's earthquake

When she was rescued, baby Aya - meaning miracle in Arabic - was still connected to her mother by her umbilical cord pic.twitter.com/71FL8xCBXJ
— Worldfocus Blog (@WorldfocusBlog) February 10, 2023

Because all of her family members have died, her father's uncle promised he will take her home after she is released from the hospital. Salah Al-Badran was one of those severely affected by the earthquake, as his home was leveled in the earthquake, forcing him and his family to take shelter in a tent.

The footage of Aya's rescue quickly went viral on social media. The video shows a man rushing from the rubble of a four-story building, taking the dust-covered baby into his arms.

In the sub-zero weather, a second man hurries toward the first, holding a blanket for the newborn, as a third begs for a car to take her to the hospital.

The baby was sent to a hospital in the adjacent town of Afrin for treatment. She had scrapes and bruises, was cold, and was hardly breathing.

The bigger picture

Aya is only one of the scores of children who have lost their parents in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, stated that it has been monitoring unfortunate children like Aya, whose parents are missing or deceased, and is working with hospitals to find extended family members who may be able to care for them.

The situation is of particular concern in Syria, a country that already bears the agony of hundreds of thousands of unknown numbers of orphans due to the destructive war on the country.

Moreover, Damascus has been hit by more than a decade of US draconian sanctions, and there have been calls for them to be lifted to facilitate the arrival of aid. Earlier today, the US complied with international calls to lift Syria-related sanctions amid the aftermath of the earthquake, albeit temporarily.

As the catastrophe unfolds in front of the whole world's eyes in #Syria, one can't help but notice how the #West deliberately chose not to help the catastrophe-stricken country. pic.twitter.com/f5cOYM0JAB
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 7, 2023

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/miscellaneous/baby-aya-sees-light-under-the-rubble-a-heartbreaking-story-f

[Anthea]

UK’s Turks and Syrians send aid

Dozens of volunteers are packing boxes piled high on a north London industrial estate, filling them with vital donations to be sent to Gaziantep, the south-eastern province in Turkey devastated by the earthquake that hit in the early hours on Monday

Huseyin Goran, 36, has been helping for three days straight. “The first two days I didn’t sleep and did as much as I could. I took a three-hour rest and carried on.”

Goran has lost numerous cousins and relatives. “About 90% of them have lost their homes,” he said.

Some of his relatives are still yet to be found. “It’s always in your head, what are they doing under the rubble, are they alive, are they coping … You lose hope after time.”

The scale of destruction has been immense. “Yesterday my uncle who escaped from the earthquake said there’s nothing left of the whole city. Everything you recall and know is not there anymore,” Goran said.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkey and north-west Syria has left over 23,000 dead and counting. By midday on Friday, an appeal to help the victims had raised £32.9m for the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) fund, helping 14 British charities respond to the disaster.

Loss and despair has been felt widely across the Turkish-speaking community in the UK, which mostly encompasses Turks and Kurds, among other ethnic groups. “There isn’t anyone who hasn’t been affected,” said Ceren Ermeç, 50, the CEO of ABS Transport, an international shipping company that has facilitated the shipment of vital aid and donations to Gaziantep.

Ermeç jumped into action within hours of the tragic news on Monday, contacting the Turkish consulate and Turkish Airlines to see what she could do. By 3pm, she was told customs rules would be relaxed. “We announced this to our customers appealing for help and donations straight away on social media,” she said.

Five hours later, at about 8pm, there was over a mile of traffic approaching the warehouse filled with people wanting to help and drop off donations. By the end of the night they had received almost two truckloads-worth of donated goods. On Tuesday afternoon, within 24 hours of putting out a call for help, a plane full of vital donations had landed in Turkey.

By Thursday morning, they had six trucks full of items to be sent to Turkey. “I get goosebumps. I am overwhelmed and honoured by the response we have had,” said Ermeç.

Along Green Lanes in Haringey, north London, which is lined with Turkish restaurants, bakeries and jewellers, vans packed with donations pull in and out of the Turkish Cypriot Community Association (TCCA) driveway. In the back room, volunteers sort through the masses of clothes, nappies and medicines dropped off by the local community.

Erim Metto, the CEO of the TCCA and , said he was blown away by the support from the community. “When we came in on Monday morning, we had a couple of bags of donations outside. People were coming with bags without us even requesting donations. By the end of the day, donations filled the room,” he said.

“It’s a kind of horror when you see people who are part of your community who have passed away,” he said, “but it’s an amazing story of humanity coming together. It’s not about race, it’s not about politics, it’s not about religious belief. People are seeing the suffering that is happening and whatever they can do, they do,” he said.

Around the community hub, there is a buzz of chatter. There is a backlog of donations of approximately 150 tonnes, which they estimate will take seven days to clear.

Mehmet Ganidagli is a Metropolitan Police sergeant. He has family who live in a small village in south-east Turkey, near the Syrian border, about 12 miles (20km) from the epicentre of the earthquake. Many of his friends and relatives are still missing.

“I must have made about 200 phone calls to cousins, uncles, and other relatives. Most of them I could get hold of. Some of them I couldn’t. All the ones I could get hold of were either fleeing or sitting in cars.” In the last couple of days it has been more difficult to make contact.

“What’s reassuring is that aid from the government is getting to them,” he said. “I spoke to family members in Turkey from my village and food and clothing reached them today.”

The Syrian community is far less numerous and established in the UK compared with the Turkish-speaking community. A vigil to commemorate the lives lost in both Turkey and Syria was held in central London on Thursday evening.

“It’s disaster upon disaster. Initially it was a political disaster and now it’s a natural disaster,” said Ibrahim, 30, an engineer, who declined to give his full name. “We are here in solidarity with the Syrians and the Turks and everyone else in the region,” he said.

Mouna Kahity, 39, a healthcare professional and researcher said her family, who live in Hatay, the southernmost province of Turkey, which has been severely affected by the earthquake, have had to evacuate their home.

“They survived any war crime you can imagine. They survived chemical attacks, they survived sieges and starvation. In 2018, they were forced to leave their own home in Syria and arrived in Turkey. With this disaster they are reliving that trauma which they are still trying to heal from.”

Kahity’s family have been living in a caravan for the past three days as temperatures dip below zero. “My mum told me they can’t handle the cold. They hadn’t eaten for two days but right now they are safe,” she said.

In Syria, the brunt of the earthquake’s destruction was felt in the north-western region of the country where there is no state control. This has severely hampered efforts to get aid into the affected area.

Mazen Gharibah, 35, director of the British Syrian Consortium, a pro-democracy group, said: “We are asking the UK public to donate to first responders in Syria such as the White Helmets and write to their MPs. The UK government’s response has been shameful so far. We need lifesaving aid immediately, we are running out of time..

For Ermeç, her donations shipments are only the start. “What we’ve done is nowhere near enough,” she said. “Please don’t forget this is happening, this isn’t going to go away. I’m not going to stop until these people are somewhere decent.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... ke-victims